THE EUROPEAN Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has spoken in no uncertain terms about the need to introduce border controls on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Speaking on Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday, Juncker said that while he hoped an agreement could be reached between the UK and EU, the latter had a responsibility to protect its citizens.
He also warned that the UK would be solely to blame for any potential fallout that could occur in the wake of a no-deal Brexit, adding that the EU and its member nations “did not invent the Brexit”.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made no secret of his desire to remove the Irish backstop from any renegotiated deal with the EU. However political leaders both inside and outside Ireland have warned of the potential impact of such a plan on trading and peace in the region.
Juncker told Ridge on Sunday: “We have to make sure that the interests of the European Union and of the internal market will be preserved.
“An animal entering Northern Ireland without border control can enter without any kind of control the European Union via the southern part of the Irish island.
“This will not happen. We have to preserve the health and the safety of our citizens.”
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG - SEPTEMBER 16: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker greets British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (L) looks on, at the European Commission Representation on September 16, 2019 in Luxembourg. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding his first meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in search of a Brexit deal. (Photo by Francisco Seco - Pool/Getty Images)Juncker also used the interview to accus some unnamed MPs of “forgetting about the history” in Ireland, adding that a no deal could see a return to the violence of the past.
“I don’t like a border because after the Good Friday Agreement, and this Good Friday Agreement has to be respected in all its parts, the situation in Ireland has improved,” the commission president said.
“We should not play with this ... Sometimes I have to question that some people are forgetting about the history.”
“The EU is in no way responsible for any kind of consequences entailed by the Brexit,” he said.
“That’s a British decision, a sovereign decision that we are respecting but don’t try... not you but to charge the European Union with the responsibility.
“The European Union is not leaving the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.”
Asked who was responsible for leaving the EU, Juncker replied: “The United Kingdom. Because we did not invent the Brexit.
“We were never pleading in favour of any kind of Brexit. That’s a British decision and so it has to be dealt with in that way.”
